Former India captain Ajinkya Rahane led his side's fightback against Australia on Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval by slamming an unbeaten fifty. Batter-all-rounder Shardul Thakur gave him good company as the duo registered a century stand for the seventh wicket after India lost one of their overnight batters, Srikar Bharat (5) early in the day.
At the time of writing this report, Rahane was batting on 89 off 122 balls and Thakur on 36 as India reached 260 for 6 at lunch in reply to Australia's 469 in the first innings.
Advantage Australia at stumps Day 2 as India batters wobble; Kohli fails to impress
Rahane, who made a comeback into the Test side since January 2022, scored his 26th half-century and completed 5,000 runs in the format. The 35-year-old batter, who survived an lbw dismissal in a no-ball from Australia captain Pat Cummins on the second day, stood like a pillar among ruins as India's top order crumbled around him.
Rahane came out to bat when India were tottering at 50 for 3 and soon after, ace batter Virat Kohli (14) departed, leaving India at 71 for 4. He then resurrected the innings by adding 71 runs with Ravindra Jadeja (48) before scripting the key partnership with Thakur.
For Australia, Scott Boland was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets for 47 runs while four others took one wicket each.
Australia were bowled out for 469 early on Day 2 with Travis Head (163) and Steve Smith (121) slamming centuries. Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the India bowlers with four wickets for 108 runs.
Brief scores at Day lunch: Australia 469 (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121, Mohammed Siraj 4 for 108) vs India 260 for 6 (Ajinkya Rahane 89 not out, Shardul Thakur 36 not out, Scott Boland 2 for 47)
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